I went back to Namdaemun market and looked for a pair of boots. The stall I wanted to buy them from had the boots, and another pair I was interested in, but the man was not there for me to double check the price. So, I went on to Myeongdong because I had also looked at a store there. I saw the same pair I had been looking at for 30,000W, but the man also suggested another pair that was quite different (fuzzy on the outside and with laces rather than the plastic-y leather of the original pair) and 5,000W more. So now I'm in a pickle deciding which ones to get. Asking my friends for advice (via text messaging) did not help much-each said a different pair suits me more and then one also suggested getting both--which did not help the situation at all because she planted a tiny seed in my head...
Then I went to meet Jung Yoon's brother Chang Hwan at City Hall Station. Unfortunately I didn't understand him when he said he missed the subway and was going to be late--as in, he just missed it and would be arriving almost 30 minutes later...so I stood in the station and the cold for 30 minutes...
We went in search of a restaurant I had looked up for lunch. It was a bit hidden tucked away behind some buildings, but after a bit of walking we found it. We ordered the {giant} mandu soup. It was pretty good. After lunch we kind of just wandered around. Along Gwanghwamun Plaza there was a big rally for one of the presidential candidates. Everyone was wearing red-or had some red article of clothing on--in support. After awhile, I looked down and realized I was wearing my red pants!! Maybe some people thought I was in support of that candidate!! We walked through the King Sejong Museum and the Admiral Yi Museum (both free) and then decided to go get coffee near Cheonggyecheon. I noticed that Chang Hwan was looking pretty tired so I told him I needed to leave to study. He mentioned that he had only slept for 2 hours today!
I returned to my room and actually found a way to listen to Christmas music on the internet (Bing Crosby era/style of course) and did a little laundry, packing and organizing. It's hard to believe I have only 9 days left in Korea! I also chatted with Jung Yoon and then did some studying.
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| Giant Mandu Soup |
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| Chang Hwan and our lunch! |
1.Korean winters can be brutal. That's another reason we're glad that you're coming home soon. We hope that you can get some warmer gloves somewhere, because U.S. Midwest winters can be cold, too. (Suggestion: Gloves lined with rabbit fur can be very warm. In the Bible's first book, God killed some animals so that Adam & Eve could use the skins for clothes. God has put animals on earth so that people can have some necessary (not necessarily just decorative) clothes-- and food. Of course, because some non-Christian "animal rights" people can be nasty or even violent (& some people who believe all their writings can be nasty), you don't have to admit to anyone that your fur-lined gloves have real fur. It's O.K., in my view, to mislead misguided people to protect one's peace & safety). The preceeding fur comments are M's comments. 2. Your writing about the boots was very colorful. 3. It's VERY important, when agreeing to wait for someone, to ask HOW late he expects to be, and to arrange with him to wait INdoors in some safe place( which has seating, preferably). And also--remembering the McDonald's 2 doors--to arrange EXACTLY WHERE in the building you plan to meet. My late Uncle Art & Aunt Mary had the same "2 doors" experience years ago. (M's comments). 4.It was observant & considerate of you to notice Chang Hwan's fatigue AND to suggest that your meeting be ended because you needed to study. 5. The "red pants at the rally" was an interesting story. 6. Although Korea is special to you, I hope that you'll enjoy the widespread use of English in the U.S. as one of the USA's great benefits. If people use the English language correctly here, it can reduce such problems as waiting in the cold for a half-hour. (M's comments). With love, R.&M.
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